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Friday, October 2, 2009

Nation, whether you're driving to your local health centre or just surfing the internet, the common thread that binds us all together is public infrastructure. Roads, schools, hospitals, the Supernet, LRT, public parks, public buildings... all of them built by our tax dollars, for the use of all.

It's no secret that we in the Alberta of the present are suffering from a significant deficit in public infrastructure. We have buildings in desperate need of repair, we have ring roads that need completion, and we have a need for a high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary (or DO we?). We need hockey rinks, community centres, and cultural spaces for the arts.

There's a lot to build. And of course, it all costs money. But, is there a way we can be managing our infrastructure BETTER? Is there a way we can better plan our cities, and better connect our citizens to one another?

One interesting idea I've heard that I'm hoping someone can touch on is the "multiple cores" idea, where in addition to your traditional "Downtown" area, you have a secondary urban core elsewhere in the city - a high concentration of office spaces, cultural spaces, and services that helps alleviate some of the pressure from the infrastructure of the Downtown core - good-bye, rush hour on MacLeod Trail into Downtown, hel-lo leisurely drive to the Sundance Commercial and Office Core.

So, I put it to you: How do we plan, build, and maintain the infrastructure of the Perfect Alberta? P3's? Full private? Full public? Toll roads and bridges? Sell naming rights?

It's all up to you, Nation. Build a province your grandchildren can be proud to call home. :)

3 comments:

Toll booths for new/existing highways are a reasonable idea. But only if the money spent on those tolls stays with the roads and pays for their upkeep. The toll should be by weight, since that's what takes a toll on the road. In that way, a small car will pay less toll than a truck or SUV, and a bus, though it will pay more, will have the toll distributed amongs all its passengers.

Multiple cores only work with a population that is not attached to their homes (or only willing to work close to home). A "South Calgary" business core will still attract talent from North Calgary, which seems to defeat the purpose.

Public transportation, though. Here's where the biggest payoff can come by way of improving infrastructure, though I realize it's currently more of a municipal initiative.

High-speed transit corridors, not slowed by rush-hour traffic (ex: c-trains) should radiate to points around the city, with significant hubs connected around to each other crossways (ex: join Chinook Station to a SW line ending at Mount Royal or Westhills) each hub serviced by busses to surrounding areas. The key is to make traveling via public transit FASTER than by car. Keep all non-high-speed routes as short as possible, to minimize wait-times and times in traffic. (The recent upgrades to transit in SE Calgary are a perfect example of what NOT to do.)

As far as this public intra-city transit goes, it should be free to users, and funded entirely by taxes to encourage use. (And given that it is supposed to be faster than driving, that shouldn't be so hard to swallow. Perhaps it needs to be improved first, though, then have the funding switched.)

This would make the city more attractive to tourists (far more than a funky bridge-to-nowhere) and locals alike.

As far as tolls go, I agree that they're only palatable so long as the money collected stays in the jurisdiction.

For example, let's say we wake up tomorrow, and there's a toll gate on Highway 40, going into Kananaskis Country. If you told visitors that the toll was, say, $2 per person and that the money was going directly into maintaining the roads and facilities of Kananaskis Country, and hiring Conservation Officers and offering educational programs within K-Country, people MIGHT swallow it.

If, though, you set up toll booths on Deerfoot Trail under the same premise, people might not bite - because they're quite possibly using it to get from Lethbridge to Edmonton, and couldn't possibly care less about whether you're hiring more police in Calgary.

And if you lose your mind, and set up those toll booths in K-Country but then tell people that the money is going into General Revenue, then you're going to be explaining every line item in the provincial budget to people when they complain about having to pay a toll - "Why does this money go into the same fund that you use to subsidize horse racing? I just want to SKI, dammit!"

Who Is The Enlightened Savage?

The Enlightened Savage (Joey Oberhoffner) is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private (small business owner) and public (provincial public service) sectors. He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk, with a sometimes disturbing affinity for Montreal Smoked Meat, gadgets, and well-written television.

Joey began blogging in late 2006 under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. He offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007, did analysis for the 2010 Municipal Election and the 2011 Federal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV for analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008.

Joey also writes at and is a founding contributor for CalgaryPolitics.com.

Hate-mail, love letters, and offers of support for his campaign to change politics for the better can be sent to amishbuggyracing (at) gmail (dot) com.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author himself, and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of any organization for which he either works or volunteers.

Perfecting Alberta

Joey O's Policy Points

"This guy is obviously a raging leftist - how can he possibly call himself a conservative?"

THIS is how. Because the public policies I advocate for are conservative - and I don't have to support your chosen right-wing politician or pet issue to be allowed to use the name "conservative".

- Fixed Provincial Election Dates (I'm leaning towards the second Monday of May, every 4 years. Would VERY rarely come into contact with a late Easter, otherwise it's smooth sailing...)

- Full Disclosure of Donors and their Contribution amounts at all levels of elected office, including internal party races, BEFORE the votes are cast - we deserve to know who's funding the war chests of our would-be leaders. And none of this "numbered corporation" crap either.

- A fully funded and independent Auditor General

- Economic diversification. Even a five-year old knows it's a bad idea to carry all your eggs in one basket.

- Making Alberta's Oilsands the standard bearer for environmental sensitivity while also making them the most sought-after business opportunity for large and mid-size operators in North America.

- Getting our energy products to market and getting a global price for them by working with our neighbours, rather than throwing tantrums and accomplishing nothing.

- Promotion of eco-tourism as a way to showcase the unique character of Alberta's landscape and people and boosting local economies.

- Capping government program spending increases from year to year at the rate of inflation plus population growth.

- Making the MLA "Tax-Free Allowance" just that - an allowance. Anything that isn't spent on expenses related to their work (e.g. rent in Edmonton, vehicular or transportation costs, hospitality) should be returned to the provincial treasury, or taxed as income.

- More recorded votes and fewer in camera sessions at all levels of government. The work of our governments should be public and indexable unless there is a clear reason why it shouldn't be.